Ski boats, sail boats, and other relatively large boats are usually transported over land by mounting the boat on a trailer pulled behind a vehicle. However, boat trailers can be expensive to purchase and many states require the owner to license the trailer and to pay road-use taxes. As a result, the owners of smaller boats including kayaks, canoes, rowing shells, etc., often prefer to dispense with the trailer and transport their boat on the roof of their vehicle. Typically, these boat owners either install boat racks on the roofs of their vehicles, or simply secure their boats to existing luggage racks.
One recurring problem with transporting boats, whether on trailers or on vehicle roofs, involves loading and unloading the boats. Even smaller boats typically weigh 50 lbs. or more, so that lifting the boat onto, and off of, the boat rack can difficult and dangerous. Furthermore, once the boat is lifted onto the boat rack, it is usually necessary to adjust the position of the boat on the rack to ensure the boat is stable during transportation. Repositioning the boat on the rack can be especially difficult for racks mounted on vehicle roofs since the boat owner must reach over the roof of the vehicle and lift the boat into the desired position.
To facilitate loading/unloading and repositioning, some boat racks use rollers or wheels to support the boat, allowing the boat to be rolled across the rack. However, the roller systems can be complex and expensive. Moreover, the use of rollers or wheels increases the danger that the boat will slide off the boat rack while the vehicle is in motion. Although brakes can be installed to prevent the rollers or wheels from turning, this increases the complexity and expense of the system.
Other boat racks use smooth support surfaces to minimize the friction between the boat and the boat rack. This allows the boat to be slid easily across the rack. To load his or her boat, the boat owner lifts one end of the boat onto the rack, and then lifts the other end and slides the boat onto the rack. In addition, once the boat is placed on the rack, the boat can be repositioned easily by sliding it across the rack. However, like the roller system described above, the smooth support surfaces increase the danger that the boat will slide off the boat rack while the vehicle is in motion.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a boat rack system which allows a boat to is be slid into place on the boat rack and then held securely during transport. Preferably, the system would be compatible with a variety of water craft, as well as a variety of vehicles and/or boat trailers.